Deposit Growth Has Become a Precision Game

Deposit growth remains possible, but the opportunity is increasingly concentrated among a relatively small set of households, wealth tiers, and markets. 

ProSight’s latest deposit data establishes the challenge. Consumer deposits were up 1.4% year-to-date through May 15, with large and direct banks driving much of the gain. Small-business deposits rose 1.8%. Even so, competition remains intense: Consumer deposits tracked by ProSight had grown 1.8% since rates began declining, compared with 19.8% growth in retail money market funds. 

In a recent ProSight State of U.S. Deposits webinar, Ian Wright, chief strategy officer for the Equifax IXI Network, used household wealth data to show why broad deposit campaigns may struggle to deliver meaningful balances. 

Some key points: 

The typical household has fewer deposits. Median household deposits fell by $4,454 between 2021 and 2025, even as median investments increased by $2,164. Overall median investable assets declined slightly during the period, suggesting that the strong growth visible in headline wealth figures has not reached most households. 

Growth is concentrated at the top. Only households holding between $1 million and just under $25 million in deposits showed balance growth. At the broader wealth level, affluent households increased their total assets by 29.2%, while mass-market household wealth fell 16.6%. 

For banks, that makes segmentation more than a marketing refinement. It helps identify where meaningful balances are actually accumulating. 

Geography can narrow the search. California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania had the largest populations of households holding at least $100,000 in deposits. Georgia and North Carolina were also among the states with the largest increases in the number of such households. Median deposit gains were particularly strong in several Southeastern markets. 

Age alone is not enough. Among Gen Z, just 309,000 affluent households—4% of the generation—controlled 48% of its assets. Wright’s conclusion: “It does take a lot of surgical marketing to be able to capture such a small market.” 

Banks can apply the same approach to other opportunities, combining life stage with current assets, likely wealth growth, and location. Equifax IXI Network data identified 360,000 Gen Z “HENRY” households—high earners not rich yet—with base assets and a strong likelihood of future growth. 

The takeaway: Deposit acquisition is becoming a search for relatively narrow pockets of capacity and potential. Banks that combine wealth, life-stage, growth-potential, and geographic data can direct offers toward households more likely to bring meaningful balances today—or grow into them tomorrow. 

For banks looking to apply these insights, ProSight Consumer Benchmarking and the ProSight Marketing Incentive Offers Analysis provide peer comparisons and segment-level views of deposit performance and acquisition offers.